Sinnonhyeon café, fudgy pistachio cheesecake: Something About Coffee

I was looking for a café to try around Gangnam, and the cake photos in the Naver Map reviews won me over at first sight. Something About Coffee has not just cakes but cookies, scones, sandos (cream sandwiches) and more, so anyone who loves desserts will go wide-eyed here.

Something About Coffee: location and hours

Something About Coffee is at 30 Gangnam-daero 102-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, floors 1 to 3. It is open daily from 11:00 to 22:30, and dine-in ends at 22:00.

Inside Something About Coffee: is it easy to get a seat?

It's a big café that uses all three floors. With so many seats on every floor, I figured finding a spot would be easy, but when I walked in, almost every seat was taken. You can really feel how popular it is.

The seating ranges from tables for two to group tables for several people. It seems good for going with just a friend, and fine for a bigger group too.

Cake and dessert menu at Something About Coffee, with the prices I paid

Cake was my main reason for coming. Probably because they're so popular, the cakes seemed to sell out quickly.

That doesn't mean the display stays empty, though. It gets refilled with other kinds of cake. Black sesame fig cheesecake and fresh blueberry cheesecake weren't there when I ordered, but they had appeared by the time I left. So the cakes you can pick from may vary a bit depending on when you visit.

Once I was there, I saw it's not only cakes: there were really lots of other desserts too, like sandos, cookies and scones.

The drinks come in many varieties too, especially ones topped with cream. Here's what I ordered.

• Americano - ₩6,500
• Matcha cream cold brew - ₩7,500
• Pistachio cheesecake - ₩9,600
• Lemon Earl Grey cookie - ₩6,800

How do the americano and matcha cream cold brew taste?

The americano (₩6,500) was clean and easygoing, with no standout flavor. When you're eating sweet desserts, you can't skip an americano, right? It had no burnt taste and nothing to complain about, and it went well with the sweets.

The matcha cream cold brew (₩7,500) had barely any coffee flavor; it felt like a matcha latte made with water instead of milk. I'd never seen it at another café, so I was curious and ordered it. And no, I don't mean it was watery at all! The matcha taste was properly strong, but without the stuffy heaviness milk gives a regular matcha latte, so it felt clean.

If you like the rich flavor of a matcha latte but find the heavy feeling it leaves in your mouth a bit much, I think you'd like this. It has a different charm from the usual matcha latte, and it was a memorable drink.

Pistachio cheesecake: what is the sheet texture like?

The pistachio cheesecake (₩9,600) was my favorite of everything I ordered at Something About Coffee this time. The pistachio soboro (crumble topping) on top was already really good.

The cake had a moist, dense pistachio sheet, a thin chocolate sheet over it, and a thick cream cheese layer on top. The texture of the pistachio sheet was especially appealing. When you say cake sheet, you usually picture something fluffy and soft, but this one was moist and strongly fudgy.

The pistachio crumble on top added a nice crunch. The cream cheese layer was thick enough that you could really taste the cheese, and the thin chocolate sheet in the middle made a nice accent.

Lemon Earl Grey cookie: which is stronger, lemon or Earl Grey?

The lemon Earl Grey cookie (₩6,800) had a much stronger lemon scent than Earl Grey, and it was tastier than I expected. The moment I cut into it, the lemon aroma burst out.

At first the fresh lemon comes through strongly, and afterward a faint Earl Grey note lingers. The texture was chewier than an ordinary cookie. The chewy cookies everyone eats these days feel a bit like rice cake, right? This one was less rice cake and more a truly chewy 'cookie'.

Since it doesn't crumble, hardly any crumbs fall while you eat, which I liked. The chewy texture plus the fresh lemon made it a treat! If you like lemon desserts, I think you'll be happy with it.

Something About Coffee: overall verdict

Something About Coffee has a wide range of cakes and desserts of good quality, and I was satisfied. With the dessert variety and drinks I rarely see at other cafés, it's a place I want to go back to.

With three floors it has plenty of seats, and it's easy to reach from Gangnam Station and Sinnonhyeon Station, so if you're looking for a café with great cake near either station, I recommend Something About Coffee!